Do you know Che like Guy knows Che?

Canadian Press Photo

Benicio Del Toro in “Che”

Let's hope not.

Earlier this week, French philosopher Guy Sorman bashed Che in a Globe and Mail opinion piece tagged to Steven Soderbergh's new marathon Che biopic on the revolutionary leader. 

Nice news hook, perfect timing, even a breezy style. Just one wee problem in the piece by this French philosopher, economist and author. He's gotten his facts rather wrong. Other than that, though, just ducky.

He trashes Che/Fidel and mocks their alliance with the Soviet Union as if they came out of the Cuban hills into Havana ready to install a Soviet puppet state on New Year's Day, 1959. That is not the case, as history/political/Latin American experts know. It was only after the Bay of Pigs and the U.S. embargo the Havana gang fell into waiting Soviet arms.  Sorman says literacy rates were better under dictator Fulgencio Batista - wrong - and that racism worsened under Castro. Wrong again.  There are many reports by international development agencies on Cuba - I offer merely a taste - but as a journalist who's been covering the nation for more years than I care to remember, I've spent enough time in hospitals, clinics and classrooms and read enough about Batista, to recognize progress.

Lest we forget, Batista was a tyrant linked to the CIA,  with secret prisons underground where victims were tortured, including being mauled by tigers. Secret prisons, ring a bell?

But, here's the part in Sorman's article that really gets me: 

"Indeed, 50 years after Cuba's revolution, Latin America remains divided. Those nations that rejected Che' mythology and chose the parth of democracy and the free market, such as Brazil, Peru and Chile, are better off than they every were: Equality, freedom and economic progress have advanced in unity."

Now, really. It's easy to install a free market in, say, Chile, when you've got a dictator like Gen. Augusto Pinochet tossing bothersome objectors out of helicopters into the Pacific Ocean. The generals in Brazil, Peru and Chile (not to forget Uruguay or Argentina) ushered in years of brutality - murder, torture and oppression - beginning in the 1960s and '70s, and were responsible for the introduction of the word, disappeared, into the lexicon in Spanish and English. It's verb, noun and adjective.

Cuba is not a democracy and Che/Fidel no saints. Rights groups compile annual reports laying out serious problems under dictator Fidel, and now his brother. Che was far more idiological than the Castro brothers, but, as difficult as he was, he was not in charge after the revolution. He was a hard man (I've interviewed many about him in Cuba) and, as anyone who cares to endure 131 minutes of Che will discover, left soon after the revolution for another not-so-glorious uprising elsewhere.

The island remains a totalitarian state where neighbours spy on neighbours and elections fit within a strict party format. I've filed stories about the less attractive side of this Canadian tourist favorite, as well as about the many good things. But to claim Castro did not make huge advances for the Cuban people, including bringing in universal medicare and education, is simply foolish. The embargo has held Cuba in an iron grip that almost brought it to its knees after the fall of the Soviet Union. Almost.

To hold up Brazil or Peru as paragons of virtue is sick. I've talked to many victims of torture under the dictators in these countries, their children and grandchildren ( many still not reunited with their families) and can't let such claims go unchallenged.  Better to know history tham use a false version for  personal motives - whether on the right or left. The truth is always more fascinating.

Hate to link you to an ad (even a book ad) but if you want to really know about Che, you can't go wrong with Jon Lee Anderson's masterpiece.

Mayor Miller: TTC safe, well except for shootings

VINCE TALOTTA/TORONTO STAR

Toronto Police look for the suspects after the shooting of a teen on an Ossington bus Feb. 23.

Say What? In this category, Toronto Mayor David Miller takes the prize today. It's been a little nerve-wracking for riders of the Toronto transit system recently, what with a man pushing two teenagers into the path of an oncoming subway train and a shooting at a downtown station recently. Thankfully, nobody died. Yesterday, after a Wild West fight on the Ossington Street bus, complete with the shooting and pistol whipping of a teenager in the bus by at least two men, followed by another shot being fired in the residential street, the mayor described the TTC as "exceptionally safe."

Relatively speaking.

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When Finance Minister Jim Flaherty talks do the banks listen?

Let's say not. Since last fall, the finance minister has been spending money on Canadian banks with the express purpose of encouraging them to open up the credit strings and lend to businesses and consumers struggling to survive this recession. Each time he spends money, as with a couple of chunks last fall totalling $75 billion, Flaherty makes it clear what the government hopes the bank will do.  Loosen up!

Again yesterday, however, Flaherty said it's tough because the very consumers and businesses he's been trying to help still have trouble borrowing money. "Even in Canada we have some credit restrictions now," said Flaherty, adding the banks are lending but being "cautious." He urged the banks to do more to ease restrictions on credit.

Wouldn't it have been a better idea to make taxpayer money available to the banks on the condition they lend money to, ah taxpayers? Just a thought. So sad to see the finance minister beg.

President Barack Obama's not-too-softening stand on NAFTA

It was all smiles on Parliament Hill Thursday for the meeting of Prime MInister Stephen Harper with the new U.S. president. Obama indicated any NAFTA renegotiations could wait, leading to crossed fingers in Harper's cabinet he's forgotten some of his campaign promises to change the trade deal. But, as Lori Wallach from Public Citizen told the Washington Post, her group and other non-profits remain hopeful Obama was merely handling a tricky topic with sophistication and will deliver his promises of a better deal for workers, the environment and other NAFTA issues. In the wake of his Ottawa visit last Thursday,  Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Trade Watch division, told the Post:

"I am happy for him to frame his way of positioning the issue any way he wants, as long as he actually delivers on the issue. If down the road Obama doesn't deliver on the policy, there will be a whole lot of really upset people."

Public Citizen, a non-profit based in Washington, was among the first  to point out recently "Buy American" commitments in the $800-plus U.S. stimulus plan do not contravene the NAFTA. The organization put out a no-nonsense review of the stimulus provisions as they relate to NAFTA wording. They also released a handy Public Citizen guide to Obama's campaign commitments that includes a nice selection of his campaign videos. It's worth a look. Their releases don't let any Obama campaign pledge slip by. We'll see.

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Mickey, Mickey, Mickey: The Academy Awards aren't my forte but, like everybody else, I was glued to the TV last night, making snarky remarks. I must say, though, I've got a soft spot for Mickey Rourke's wearing a photo medallion of his deceased dog. Sadly, Loki the Chihuahua passed away a few days ago at some incredible dog age of 113. I happened to catch Maclean's movie critic Brian Johnson on Q this morning. Enough with the chihuahua, he said. He was joking.

Not for me. Rourke said he would rather have had  two more years with Loki than a Best Actor award.  It's a loyal comment from a man who appreciates the company of dogs. Too bad he didn't get either.

* * *

A postcript on Big Three pensions, or lack of:  As days go by, the promised pensions and benefits for GM retirees (among others) appear less secure.  Readers have posted interesting comments to Political Decoder about whether taxpayers should be on the hook for pensions if the companies/unions can't cover. Most people are clear: NO! 

The reason I think these corporations must respect their retirees is these issues were settled in a bargain with unions over time, and seniors can't be thrown overboard at this late date. It would be great to see all retired workers in this country get fair and decent pensions and benefits. That is not the case but that should be the goal of unions and employee associations, even in these grim times.

Too many Canadians find themselves with zip at retirement time. A government pension isn't much. That's the lowest common denominator.  The battle should be to better conditions for everyone, not punish Big 3 workers because other people are losing out. Besides, corporations can be sneaky. Experience has shown that, even in the most dire circumstances of bankruptcy and closure, there's always money tucked away for corporate executive payouts.

Would G. Richard Wagoner Jr. lose his pension and benefits package?

Let's assume the Seal Cove dolphins are free, shall we?

Would the experts put a sock in it:

No sooner had the townsfolk of Seal Cove, Newfoundland, cut a path through ice Thursday to free three white-beaked dolphins trapped by ice since the weekend, a marine mammal expert threw cold water on the story. Provincial government whale expert Wayne Ledwell told reporters: "In my opinion, the chances for survival would be slim."

Mr. Ledwell may be right; the stress may have been too much for the dolphins. Still, the townsfolk who were out in that ice in that small boat cutting the ice with the propeller blades saw the dolphins swim off in open water. Others later saw three dolphins swimming in ice-free waters at the mouth of the cove. Mr. Ledwell didn't mean any harm, I'm sure. But he didn't risk life and limb like those rescuers. He sat in Seal Cove last week while his bosses in the provincial government, as well as Canadian officials, said there was nothing to be done. 

I am hardly an expert like Mr. Ledwell. But I have spent my entire career as a journalist listening to the "experts" telling people, like those in Seal Cove, what could and couldn't be done. In my career, they have been wrong more times than they were right and, coincidentally, often about marine issues, such as where East Coast lobster go to spawn.

Unfortunately, I have seen dolphins put under enormous stress from human beings motivated by profit - and survive. Sadly. I covered the story in 2001 of seven dolphins who were caught in the Pacific, transported across the Baja Penisula and kept in shallow ocean pens in the tourist town of La Paz, Mexico. They arrived in La Paz bloodied and battered from the trip in crates in the back of pick-up trucks like fish for market. One died soon after arrival, however the rest lived to be battered around in the La Paz enclosure during a 2003 hurricane. Then, three more died. The "experts" looking after them left them in shallow pens in a hurricane zone. The remaining three were, presumably, sent to "swim with dolphins" programs, despite huge efforts to rehabilitate them to the sea, beginning as soon as they were captured. This story still bothers me terribly. It would have been better had the original seven died before reaching La Paz. However, it does show these mammals can endure stress.

There's enough bad news these days and, in this case, every reason to believe these dolphins survived. Better that Mr. Ledwell keep his grim prognosis to himself. Let's leave the story with the image of free dolphins, courageous townsfolk and lessons learned in Seal Cove. Perhaps next time, people won't wait for the experts to fiddle around for four or five days before taking matters into their own hands.

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Good news for GM retirees

The news gets better today, relatively speaking. In the GM restructuring plan sent to the provincial and federal governments today, the company secured pensions and benefits for retirees, as well existing jobs in Canada. For now, one should add. We don't have the fine print yet to ensure all benefits are guaranteed, but it's very good news for seniors.

A literal assault on pensioners has been taking place in our battered economy, the sector of the population least able to fight back. More and more companies talk publicly about the heavy costs attached to ex-workers and, increasingly, pension funds look about as reliable as all those bogus bank deals. Air Canada is the latest.

Clearly, pensioners must be protected across-the-board; they thought they had a deal before they retired to live on fixed incomes.

Good news from Seal Cove

THE CANADIAN PRESS

White-beaked Dolphins, shown on Feb. 18, finally swim free.

No free trade, no politics, not even a tidbit on President Barak Obama's visit to Canada yesterday. But this is a national story, and a very happy one. Finally, it's freedom for at least three - and possibly more - of the white-beaked dolphins trapped in ice in Seal Harbour, Newfoundland.  They had been there since the weekend, with local residents, who heard their cries and felt helpless, trying in vain to have the Canadian Coast Guard send an icebreaker. The story was carried by media around the world. Finally, Thursday, a group of townsfolk, including Brandon Banks, 16, went out in a 17-foot fibreglass boat and cleared a route to more open water, using the boat's own propeller blades. Two of the dolphins followed easily; a third had to be towed in harness with young Banks keeping the mammal's head above water with his legs. Reports on the other two have been varied, with some suggesting at least one made it to open water alone. The dolphins aren't completely out of the harbour, but it's expected the winds will soon clear most of the spring ice packs out of their way.

With bad news seeming to close in on us every day, financial shock waves, stories of human torture and abuse of animals, it's heartening to read such a good-news story. Dolphins are fascinating creatures, living in groups that range hundreds of kilometres and have sophisticated patterns of communication and tight family units. That's why it's tough to witness the burgeoning of "swim-with-dolphins" programs, with animals often captured with brutality and transported around the world. Yes, dolphins are easily trained and, with those unfortunate grins of theirs, they appear so gay as tourists ride their backs. But they are prisoners.

Richard O'Barry, the man who trained Flipper for the TV show of the same name, is a leading activist against the capture of dolphins and has his own rescue centre.

Here's a great site for checking out some of the research on dolphins.

Swim free.

A public glimpse of Obama

WHITE HOUSE PHOTO BY PETE SOUZA

President Barack Obama's schedule in Ottawa looks tight and, all week, PMO types have played down the chance of the public getting much more than a glimpse of the back of his head.

Still, it's hard to imagine a politician with that much savvy would pass up an opportunity to wave - and perhaps more - to crowds expected to jam the lawns of Centre Block, despite the cold. He knows how popular he is in Canada. This may not be Berlin, but they will be chanting his name. If I were a betting person, I'd wager he will make it worth it for those who go through the Herculean task of getting through security and onto the grass.

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If you want to check the White House blog to see what they're saying about Obama's trip to Ottawa, here's the link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/

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Training child soldiers: My colleague Rick Westhead's account this week of child soldiers in Sri Lanka was chilling. "Once you've killed once, it's easier the next time," one Tamil Tigers ex-child soldier told Westhead. In this excellent piece of foreign reporting, there was another haunting reference that caught my attention:

"These children are innocents," Wijemanne said. "They have been exploited. It's as simple as that. They've been here for a few weeks now. They've asked me for movies like Batman and the boys want Fair and Lovely (a skin lightening cream). They're learning to be regular people again."

In this part of the world, the skin lightening cream is called Fair and Lovely. In other parts - notably Latin America where I've spent so much time as a correspondent - there are other names for other products. But it comes down to the same thing: the idea that whiter is better. It's a self-loathing characteristic that afflicts entire groups in societies around the world - and it's part of the problem.

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Political Decoder will be back Friday, February 20.

Don't worry: likelihood of two ballistic-missle submarines colliding is slim

Military experts in Britain and France told Pulitzer prize-winning NYT correspondent John F. Burns the chance of a collision of submarines carrying nuclear-weapons is "a million to one."

Boy, lucky the odds aren't, say, 999,999 to one or there would be crashes every other day.

Why do the experts always say things like that after, the odds are just met? In this case, two submarines carrying nuclear weapons, one British, the other French, actually did collide in the middle of the Atlantic? Or somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. A terrific reporter like Burns wouldn't leave it there, however, noting in his report:

"But military experts said the episode raised troubling questions about the safety of ballistic-missle submarines patrolling the ocean while hiding their whereabouts even from NATO allies."

I'll say.

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GM and their retired workforce

The latest forecasts look dire, I know: GM will have to cut 47,000 jobs.

Like everybody else, that recent headline on the Toronto Star website gives me chills. The only thing that isn't horrible about the story is  there's no mention of cutting retiree benefits in this latest leak about the contents of GM's economic plan for the Obama administration.

Probably that shoe will drop too.

To penalize retired workers who laboured for years - sometimes for the better part of a lifetime - for a company, only to have their benefits slashed when they are older and less able to fight back is  unconscionable. In weekend reports about GM's pending plan, officials close to the talks suggested just such cuts are in the works (as well as slashing jobs).

We'll know soon enough exactly what GM is proposing, but hitting seniors is the lowest of the low - especially when I doubt all the best perks will be taken from executives at the top of the GM food chain. After all, they only sidelined their private jets after everybody started talking about how Big 3 corporate types flew them to Washington to plead with Congress for a bailout. Tacky, tacky.

(BTW, I don't really think the best solution for the Big Three would be to euthanize their retired work force as a recent Political Decoder  bit of satire suggested. I must say it was a shock to see some readers took it literally. Wouldn't that make me a rather nasty piece of work?)

His Majesty, the Premier of Ontario

If our exalted Premier Dalton McGuinty hadn't imposed his 1.5-metre rule, I would shake his hand today. Like all Ontarians, I'm delighted to have Monday off to celebrate the second anniversary of his "Family Day." But as my colleague Robert Benzie pointed out in his article earlier this week, the premier wants "a bit of breathing space" from the grungy media hordes. We are a tawdry lot. So I guess I'll just have to give him a thumbs-up in absentia.

A contact told me the premier is, as I write, being fitted for a crown and scarlet robe with ermine trim, but it is all very hush-hush so mum's the word. Act surprised when he emerges in his new attire and try not to giggle at the buckled shoes and white hose.

Such edicts are likely only the beginning.  Brian Mulroney used to have aides put up red silk ropes to mark his route to Prairie farmhouses.  So I guess McGuinty's imagination is the only limit on how far this thing can go. BTW, is Ontario thinking of bestowing knighthoods? Sir Dalton.

On this odds-and-sods Friday before the aforementioned long weekend, I offer three tips:

For serious reading, check out Bruce Campbell's report on free trade, "The Obama Effect." It's written in advance of President Barack Obama's visit to Ottawa next Thursday and discusses areas where Canada would be wise, in his view, to renegotiate NAFTA. It won't be released until next week, however Decoder readers get an advance look.

For a TV break, a new season of The Amazing Race begins Sunday. I'm an addict; I used to think I'd ace other competitors (especially working with any of the assistants I've had in foreign bureaus) because foreign correspondents already know all the travel tricks. But as the show has progressed, contestants have caught up to the media pack to some degree, so I'm not so sure. They still don't have sat phones, though. Plus, it's not a weekend show, but I am now a Fringe fan. It's all blood and gore with a sense of humour, chemical agents turning people into freak dog creatures, time travel - that kind of thing. Yummy.

Finally, for an "ahhhhhh, how cute" moment, check out  this video. You already know I'm an animal lover sop who is happy to be on the receiving end of Lynne's gems so I can pass them on to you. (Excuse if there's a commercial.) I have fallen in love with Kingsford too.

Kingsford Goes to the Beach - Funny home videos are a click away

Look what they're doing to women in the public service of Canada

I just got off the phone with Judy Wasylycia-Leis from Ottawa and it was a pretty discouraging conversation. She's watching women's rights fall by the wayside, and that's tough for somebody who's fought for these rights over a lifetime. Moreover, there aren't many people standing with the Manitoba New Democrat on this one - a blow when you thought certain rights had become part of the fabric of the nation.

The unravelling of rights is exactly what's happening with the Conservatives' new "Equitable Compensation Act." There's an Orwellian title for you - like the Patriot Act. The change the Conservatives slipped into the recent budget - after failing last year - has nothing to do with equitable pay. In fact, it's the opposite. It removes any chance women in the federal civil service have of fighting for pay equity by denying them the right to complain to the Human Rights Commission, or to go to court, when they believe there is discrimination. Instead, pay equity issues are to be solved as part of the regular bargaining process but - get this! - if anyone agitates on the basis of pay equity, they face a $50,000 fine. So the Conservative regime is forbidding a woman from fighting for herself and, simultaneously, penalizing her union from fighting for her.

Once this legislation is passed, a woman working in the federal public service will have fewer rights than women working elsewhere in Canada.

"We fought this battle so hard 30 years ago,"  Wasylycia-Leis said in an interview with the Decoder, "and I never thought we'd lose what we won. It's shocking. They are taking it away in one fell swoop with the stroke of a pen . . . It hurts."

There is still a way to stop it, she says. The act is part of the budget legislation and Wasylycia-Leis and her NDP colleagues are trying to divide it off into a separate bill that would then face its own vote in the House that, hopefully, wouldn't be a non-confidence motion. If the Liberals and (one would think) the Bloc unites with the NDP, it could be defeated. The act should be in committee the week of February 23 and the House not long after.

Wasylycia-Leis says she's embarrassed men in other parties haven't fought harder for such a basic right for women. Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, she argues, could have refused to support a budget that contains this new pay equity regime, instead of demanding only  progress reports.   "Maybe," she said, "they're not aware what this does to women." She is a veteran politican, who went from local activism and a spot on Howard Pawley's NDP provincial team to federal politics. "This is completely ideological with the Conservative government," she added, noting Prime Minister Stephen Harper began attacking pay equity years ago when he was director of the right-wing National Citizens Coalition and his party voted against it last year at their convention.

I know I've covered this topic before in the Decoder, but I find it so mind-boggling. In hearings yesterday in Ottawa, a Treasury Board official wasn't able to show Ottawa that any money would be saved under this new "equitable compensation" plan. But that's not the point anyway. It's about the rights of women to fight what they see injustice and - if they are proven correct - to have the injustice removed.

If the media wrote about any other group of people (you fill in the blank) being denied the right to even appeal to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, I'd like to believe there'd be an uproar in this country. Well, that's what they are doing. Right now. And there's no uproar. How can this be in Canada in 2009? It feels like we are going backwards. It doesn't feel good; it feels scary.

In Question Period all week, Wasylycia-Leis tangled both with government officials and urged Liberals to oppose the act. Here's a taste of her comments from Monday:

"We entered political life to make a difference. One way to make a difference was to ensure some measure of pay equity was being enforced right across this country. I cannot believe that the Liberals are going to sit here today and let this go down the tubes. I cannot believe that they are going to let the women of this country down simply because they got boxed in by some stupid response to this Conservative budget, which does not deserve to to be supported for one second of the day. I cannot believe it.

I may be emotional today, but I have been involved in the women's movement for some 30-40 years. When we started working in the women's movement it was not just to be patsies for the men or for a right-wing macho party like the Conservative Party. It was to stand up for women, to stand up and be counted and make sure that the laws of the land respected and reflected the great diversity of this land and the values of this country. At the heart of that is equality and justice. At the heart of equality and justice is pay equity, and what pay equity means is equal pay for work of equal value."

Here's a  longer sample of Monday's Question Period. And a taste of  Tuesday's  and today's questioning by Wasylycia-Leis.

A plea for Colombia

Carlos Osorio, Toronto Star Photo

Colombian activists in Toronto Monday

A delegation of Colombian activists is in Ottawa this week, asking the government, as well as opposition MPs, to review the Canada-Colombia Free Trade deal, signed last November and expected to be introduced in the House soon. They'd like to see parliamentarians vote against it, at least until the human rights review promised last year in an all-party committee report is carried out. (It appears that idea has been deep-sixed.) Remember, this is the deal that asks companies to pay a token fine when a trade unionist is assassinated (450 have been killed since 2002), leaving NDP trade critic Peter Julian to last year term it the "decriminalization of murder."

Canadian supporters of the deal argue trade is the best thing for a country like Colombia where human rights abuse is so egregious. In the lead-up to Valentine's Day, this delegation talked about "slave labour" conditions in the greenhouses where women and children work for Colombia's important cut flower business. They urged a boycott by Canadian buyers. But, say free trade boosters, better to improve conditions in the greenhouses than rob Colombians of work. Bettering conditions would be great. Terrific. Human rights activists - nuns, priests, indigenous and union leaders, teachers and organizers for women's groups - have long fought for these very improvements themselves,  often at the expense of their lives. Advocates of the deal suggest this lightbulb idea of bettering conditions as if it had never dawned on Colombians. It seems like they are supposed to work quietly for change at home but never alert the world to what's going on.

Sadly, there's a great deal of naivete about how things really work. It's as if people think it's as easy as starting a petition, working for a union or talking to management about a list of conditions. In Colombia, you get killed for doing that. There is overwhelming evidence of death squads linked to the military targeting anybody from civil society fighting for democratic values and fair working conditions. That trend is made sickenly worse by evidence of co-operation between the death squads and multi-national companies who already exploit the best land, produce and natural resources - and then stand to profit even more from free trade. Human rights groups document the collusion, but it is exceedingly difficult to prove. However, amidst reports of involvement by several big-name companies, the U.S. Justice Department fined Chiquita Brands International $25 million in 2007, after the company admitted to having paid $1.7 million to the terrorist organization, the United Self Defence Forces of Colombia. to stop union organising. The Spanish initials of the group is AUC, which Colombians translate with dark humour as "Friends of Uribe for Colombia." (Alvaro Uribe is president.) If you try to organize, if you complain, if you lead a democratic organization, you don't get a reprimand, you have your life taken away from you.

There is, too, the view the justice system is similar to Canada's, meaning that, although not perfect, one doesn't take one's life in one's hands by appealing to police or the courts. It's different in Colombia. There are many cases of extraordinary bravery among Colombian judicial officials who try to expose human rights violations, from kidnapping and torture to extrajudicial murder. But, too often, police, judges and the military don't want to know. Too often, they already know because the military is involved. Events are reported - including the massacre a few years ago of civilians in a northern town while army  army helicopters circled overhead - and eye-witness reports are ignored. I know. I've done some of the investigating myself, not just in Colombia but countries like Mexico where counter-terrorism usually means campaigns against the poor and weak, and not rebels.

It's totally respectable to have a different opinion about Canada-Colombia free trade than these four activists currently in Canada. But those who support trade should educate themselves about what really happens to workers. It makes no sense for a parliamentary committee to recommend a comprehensive human rights review and then for the government to ignore it. Even George Bush backed away from free trade with Colombia last year.

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I offer a small smile with this video in a week where the world is literally burning: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUbsc_a-e3g

Anybody had a bad experience flying Air Canada?

Remember. oh so long ago over Christmas, when so many Canadians were steaming over their treatment by Air Canada? Weather is always a factor in the winter months; every sane flyer knows that. But it was the 12 hours spent by one sad group of flyers on a runway in Vancouver, the delays without explanation and the immense lineups at airports across Canada caused by an airline that clearly doesn't have enough staff to handle the job and exerts enormous pressure on the brave souls who work under such conditions. (What was Robert Milton's payoff again? )

A month or so later and people can forget how bad things were. Not so with New Democrat MP Jim Maloway who introduced a Private Members Bill in Parliament today. I think his press release is worth a read in its entirety, and I'm adding his webpage address. It refers to all airline passengers and, as we all know, Air Canada is not the only culprit. However, it was the most egregious over Christmas. Here's his proposal:

Jim Maloway introduces Air Passenger Bill of Rights

OTTAWA – New Democrat MP Jim Maloway (Elmwood-Transcona) introduced a Private Members Bill today that will provide compensation to airline passengers and a bill of rights protecting travellers in Canada.

The bill includes measures on compensation for overbooked flights, unreasonable tarmac delays, cancelled or delayed flights, the concern for late and misplaced luggage, and all-inclusive pricing by airline companies in their advertising.

“The legislation is inspired by a European Union law, where over-bookings have dropped significantly,” said Maloway. “Air Canada is already operating under the European laws for their flights in Europe. Why should an Air Canada customer receive better treatment in Europe than in Canada?”

The bill of rights will ensure that passengers are kept informed of flight changes, whether they are delays or cancelations. The new rules will be posted in the airport and airlines must inform passengers of their rights and the process to file for compensation.

“The changes are not meant to punish the airlines,” said Maloway. “If the airlines follow the rules, they will not have to pay one dollar in compensation to travellers.”

Don't get mad, get cracking. Or, don't complain.

Do Something Different for Valentine's Day: Buy a Book

Yes, writers should be recognized in Canada and, earlier today, the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction made life a little easier for Tim Cook. The organization awarded Cook $25,000 for Shock Troops: Canadians Fighting The Great War, 1917-1918, Vol. 2.  Barring a mega hit, it is extremely difficult to make a living as a writer in Canada and it's getting worse. In his wonderful profile of Anne Michaels in the current Toronto Life, Don Gillmor describes the battleground of the publishng world, with mid-tier authors being "culled" and tossed out by big publishing houses. In earlier times, they might have been given a chance to grow and develop, but no longer. (Gillmor's piece highlights Michaels' soon-to-be-released, The Winter Vault.) There's also an ugly trend in the U.K. and U.S. for publishers to insist books be pre-edited (passing the costs on to authors) and, post-publishing, be publicized by the author. That's on top of swelling costs to the writer, which include the cost of the index, photo rights and any other rights involved. In an age of big box bookstores, Amazon and a generation less inclined, perhaps,  to sit down with a book, publishers prefer to publish "name-only" writers. It's always been like that for fiction and non-fiction, but not to this degree. Even the freelancing and speech-giving fields are drying up and they've been the money-makers for struggling writers who try to live without a full-time job (not that there are many of those anymore, either). It's scary out there.

The Charles Taylor Award recognizes writers need more than prestige sandwiches. In fact, Cook, curator of the Canadian War Museum and an adjunct professor at Carleton, is probably one of very few Canadian writers who actually has an job he loves that fits perfectly with his literary ambitions. Runners-up today (winning $2000) are Elizabeth Abbott's Sugar: A Bittersweet History and Ana Siljak's Angel of Vengeance: The "Girl Assassin," the Governor of St. Petersburg and Russia's Revolutionary War. 

So, for Valentine's Day, how about forgetting flowers and buying a book for that special someone. The thought involved in the purchase of a book is more romantic anyway.

* * *

In the "Say What?" category. Or better, people have some nerve.

Robert's Picton's family is suing the RCMP for messing up their pig farm - where they found the dismembered bodies of six women. It was pretty messy when Picton murdered those poor women, crimes for which he was found guilty and sent to jail.

Please.

Back Monday, Feb. 9

Apologies to Political Decoder readers for omitting to mention I'm on assignment; back next week.

Free trade and hungry starlings

It appears the looming trade war over a congressional "Buy America" plan is fading - as it was always meant to do. Provisions to bar foreign iron and steel are contained in a couple of congressional bills working their way towards reconciliation and, eventually, a signature from President Barack Obama. When the news broke last week, International Trade Minister Stockwell Day began warning of a trade war and reminding the U.S. they have NAFTA obligations to Canada. 

There has been a lot of confusion over the issue - perhaps because trade issues are complex - and I tried to sort some of them out in an analysis  yesterday in the Star. Essentially, the piece says the U.S. provisions on iron and steel don't violate NAFTA, but that Washington will likely grant Canada a waiver, as it has done before.  (Other parts of the "Buy America" provisions in the stimulus legislation, such as procurement by states and municipalities, are also covered off by NAFTA exemptions.)

An interesting link to Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch explains  some of the complexities for those really interested in the subject. And I know you trade nerds (not counting myself) are out there.  

It's been such a week of drama. Why let the facts spoil a good fight? International Trade Minister Stockwell Day talked tough and Canadian Ambassador Michael Wilson sent a sharply-worded letter to congressional leaders. They stand up for Canada on what's likely the only issue in recent memory that doesn't require real muscle (and they will take the credit for winning a fight they didn't have to fight), I repeat: it's all going to work out, in fact Obama has said as much.

What about standing up for Canada by stopping the dumping of cheap offshore steel or ensuring millions of dollars in military procurement go to Canadian companies, at least on occasion? The U.S. company Navistar International recently scooped up a $254-million contract to build medium-duty trucks for the Canadian military at its Texas plant, when the company is busy laying off employees in Chatham, and NAFTA clearly allows defence contracts to be tendered to Canadian companies.  The 18-month deadline for the  truck contract could have protected jobs at Navistar's devastated Canadian plant or  another hard-hit Canadian faclity. We do know how to build trucks in Canada, as trade analyst Scott Sinclair has pointed out.

On a lighter note in these bleak times, let's take comfort in the intelligence of birds. During the coldest few weeks of the winter, I put out food for the birds, or squirrels if they arrive first. Using a favorite method of my aunt's, I spread organic peanut butter on two or three slices of bread baked with sunflowers or wild rice, cut in squares and place on the pillar of the front porch. It's usually half gone before I can even climb back up to my duplex and look out the window. Last weekend, I instead put out some pieces of pumpernickel that had crumbled in the bag. Sans peanut butter.

What was I thinking?

Two hours later, it was still sitting there. So I swept it into a bag and replaced it with three slices of spelt bread with wild rice - and the usual peanut butter. Gone in minutes.

I know, I know, it's obvious who's in charge here and it's not me. But it's so much fun watching their antics, especially the (literal) pecking order. Call me a wimp.

Iggy: Notes from the backwater

The Canadian Press

A complimentary story in the Fashion section of the New York Times yesterday on Michael Ignatieff begins:

"In the last few years, Michael Ignatieff's friends in the United States and England began receiving self-deprecating e-mail messages from him lamenting how dull and low-profile his life had suddenly become.

He had spent most of the preceding four decades making a name for himself in both countries — writing essays on the world’s war zones for The New Yorker,  The New Republic and The New York Review of Books; writing novels and screenplays; enjoying popularity as a television-show host in Britain and a regular at the Groucho Club; and teaching at Harvard and Cambridge universities.

Now, he joked, he was stuck in the pedestrian life of a freshman civil servant — in Canada no less."

Sounds like those emails might make amusing reading for Canadian yokels, especially in a season where they look more like blobs with toques than people. Sadly, the information was not provided.